Spring group



R. B. COTTRELL July 11, 1951 SPRING GROUP Filed Nov. 22, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l Patented July 17, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SPRING snoop tion of New Jersey Application November 22, 1944, Serial No. 564,648

13 Claims. I

My invention relates to a spring group particularly designed for use in a railway car truck to afford resilient support for the truck bolster from the side frame.

The general object of my invention is to design a spring group having an associated friction absorbing device affording a satisfactory degree of control of the bolster supporting springs to prevent harmonious and synchronous vibrations of the same and resultant damage to the truck parts and lading.

A specific object of my invention is to provide a spring group comprising top and bottom spring plates for use with coil springs confined therebetween wherein one of said plates may support spaced friction assemblies and the other of said plates may carry a friction member extending between said assemblies and having frictional engagement with the same.

My novel friction device comprises spaced housings secured to one of the spring plates and receiving therebetween a follower secured to the other of said plates, said follower having frictional engagement at opposite sides thereof with friction shoes in said housings, a spring and wedge member being disposed within each housing for urgin the associated shoe into such ongagement.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a spring group embodying my invention, onehalf of the top .plate being cut away at the right of the figure to better illustrate the parts therebeneath. Figure 2 is a side elevation of the spring group shown in Figure l, and Figure 3 is an end elevation, half in section, the section being taken approximately in the vertical plane indicated by the line 3--3 of Figure 2.

Describing my invention in detail, the spring group comprises top and bottom plates 2 and 4 adapted for engagement respectively with the bolster and side frame of a railway car truck (not shown). The top plate 2 is provided with the inturned flange 6 affording convenient positioning means for pairs of coil springs, diagrammatically indicated at 8, 8, disposed between the spring plates, said plate 2 being cut away at one end as at l!) to avoid interference with the truck bolster (not shown). The bottom plate 4 is similarly formed with the inturned spring positioning flange l2 and it may be noted that at each side thereof the bottom plate 4 is upwardly offset to provide a corrugated portion l4 so formed to afford the seating of the spring group in a well known form of side frame tension member, said bottom plate 4 being cut away as at l6 adjacent said corrugated portion I 4 to form an elongated openin ll, as well illustrated in the top plan view of Figure 1. Additional angular spring positioning means l8, it may be welded as at 20, 24 to the top and bottom plates intermediate the coil springs 3, 8.

Intermediate the pairs of coil springs at opposite ends of the group may be positioned my novel snubbing means comprising the spaced housings, generally designated 22, 22, the major portion of each housing being a rectangularly shaped hollow member having the top and bot tom walls 24 and 26 merging with the spaced side walls 28 and 30 and the end wall 32, said end wall 32 being formed with an integral hollow cylindrical portion 34. Each housing is fixed to the bottom plate 4 by welding the bottom wall 26 thereto as at 36, 3t and the rear wall of the member 34 to the corrugated portion l4 as at 38 whereby said housings become an integral part of said bottom plate 4.

A follower 40 may be secured in any conventional manner as by welding as at 42, 42 to the top plate ll, said follower comprising a substantially rectangular hollow friction member or post extending downwardly between the spaced housings 22, 22 and having fiat friction surfaces 44, 44 on opposite sides thereof in complementary frictional engagement as at 4% (Figures 1 and 3) with a friction shoe, generally designated 43, in each housing. Each shoe 48 is a substantially solid member disposed within each housing between the spaced side walls 28 and at and seated on the bottom wall 26, said walls having guiding engagement with said shoe. The rear wall of said shoe 48 is provided with a diagonal surface 50 in complementary wedge engagement with a wedge member or block 52 seated on the top wall 24 between the side walls 28 and 3c and in guiding engagement therewith, said wedge member having substantially the same form as said friction shoe but being inverted with respect to said shoe to afford wedge engagement therewith. A spring, diagrammatically indicated at 54, is positioned within the cylindrical portion 34 of each housin by means of raised lugs or studs 56., 55 provided respectively on the rear of the wedge member 52 and the end wall of the portion 34, said springs urging the wedge members 52 along the converging diagonal surfaces iii of the shoes 48 to thereby actuate the shoes 48 into slidablo and frictional engagement with the friction surfaces 44 of the follower 40 to thereby effectually control the vertical movements of the bolster- 1. A spring group comprising top and bottom plates, pairs of coil springs confined therebetween, and a friction device interposed between said pairs comprising spaced housings, fixed to one of said plates, a follower fixed to the other of said plates intermediate said housings, said follower having opposed vertical friction surfaces adjacent respective housings, each of said housings receiving therewithin a friction shoe in engagement with one of said surfaces, a wedge member in wedge engagement with said shoe, and resilient means compressed between said wedge member and a side of said housing, each of said wedge members and friction shoes having engagement with vertically spaced walls of the associated housing, and abutment stops in each housing engageable with the associated wedge member for limiting the compression of said resilient means.

2. In a spring group, top and bottom plates, pairs of coil springs confined therebetween, and a friction device intermediate said pairs comprising a friction post fixed to one of said plates and having friction surfaces on opposite sides thereof, spaced friction assemblies supported on the other of said plates and receiving said post therebetween, each of said assemblies comprising a friction shoe in frictional engagement with an adjacent friction surface of said post, a wedge member in engagement with the associated shoe, and spring means remote from said post and reacting against said wedge member, each wedge member and shoe engaging opposed surfaces of the associated housing, each housing having a surface intermediate said surfaces adapted for abutment with the associated wedge member for limiting the compression of said spring means.

3. In a spring group, top and bottom plates, pairs of coil springs confined therebetween adjacent opposite ends thereof, and a friction device intermediate said pairs between said plates comprising a follower fixed to one of said plates presenting friction faces on opposite sides thereof, spaced housings fixed to the other of said plates adjacent respective faces, and friction assemblies in each housing in engagement with the adjacent face, each of said assemblies comprising a friction element in engagement with the adjacent friction face, a member in engagement with said friction element, and a compression spring extending transversely of said follower and bearing against and compressed between said member and the associated housing, said element having angularly arranged surfaces on opposite sides thereof in engagement respectively with the associated member and face, each housing having a wall adjacent that extremity of the associated spring which bears against the related member for cooperation with said member to limit movement thereof toward said spring to prevent overcompression of said spring.

4. In a spring group, spaced spring plates, a coil spring therebetween, and a friction device between said plates comprising a friction follower fixed to one of said plates, spaced housings fixed to the other of said plates and receiving said follower therebetween, each of said housings comprising a quadrilateral portion adjacent said follower, an end wall remote from said follower and a substantially cylindrical portion on said wall extending away from said follower, friction shoes and wedge members in the quadrilateral portions of the respective housings, the shoes embracing said friction follower therebetween and being in frictional engagement therewith, and a spring in the tubular portion of each housing compressed between the rear end of the tubular portion and the related wedge member;

said end walls being adapted for abutment with the respective wedge member to limit the compression of the respective springs by limiting movement of said wedge members and. associated shoes toward the respective springs.

5. In a spring group, spaced plates, a plurality of coil springs confined therebetween, and a friction device comprising a follower fixed to one of said plates, spaced housings fixed to the other of said plates at opposite sides of said follower, said housings and follower being arranged in the form of a T with the housings forming the head of the T and the follower forming the leg of the T, friction means in each housing comprising a friction shoe and a wedge element in diagonal face engagement with each other, each shoe projecting out of its associated housing and frictionally engaging said follower, springs extending transversely of said follower, each compressed between an element and the associated housing, and abutment surfaces on each housing adapted for abutment with the associated friction means to limit movement thereof toward the associated spring to prevent overcompression thereof. I

6. In a spring group, spaced plates, pairs of coil springs confined therebetween and a friction device intermediate said pairs between said plates comprising a friction member fixed to one of said plates and presenting friction faces on opposite sides thereof and shoemarrying means fixed to the other of said plates and supporting friction shoes engaging said faces respectively, an element in engagement with each shoe and a compression spring reacting against said element, each shoe having angularly arranged faces on opposite sides thereof in engagement respectively with the associated member and face and having a face between said angularly arranged faces thereof engaging one surface of said housing, said element engaging another surface of said housing opposed to said first-named surface, said last-named face and said element having slidable movement along said opposed surfaces for frictionally resisting lateral movement between said plates.

7. In a friction device, spaced followers, a friction member fixed to one of said followers, spaced housings carried by the other follower and receiving said member therebetween, each of said housings receiving therewithin a friction shoe having a friction surface on one side thereof in engagement with an adjacent friction surface on said member and having a diagonal surface on the opposite side thereof, a wedge element in engagement with said diagonal surface, and resilient means compressed between said wedge element and an adjacent portion of said housing, the diagonal surfaces of said shoes converging toward said member, each housing comprising a pair of spaced opposed walls extending angularly to said member and said surfaces and engaged by said wedge element and shoe respectively, each of said resilient means being oriented to urge the associated wedge and element into said engagement whereby the shoe and wedge element are urged into said engagement with the walls and the shoe is caused toengage said member.

8. In a friction device, spaced followers, one of said followers presenting spaced housings and the other follower presenting a friction element extending therebetween, friction shoes in said housings embracing said element therebetween and in friction engagement therewith, said shoes having converging wedge surfaces, wedge means in said housings in engagement with said wedge surfaces, and a compression spring in each housing extending transversely of said friction element and operative to urge said wedge means into engagement with said shoes, each housing presenting abutment surfaces adapted for engagement with the associated wedge means to limit the movement thereof toward the related spring to prevent overcompression thereof.

9. In a friction device, spaced followers, one of said followers presenting a friction member extending between spaced housings on the other of said followers, a friction shoe in each housing in guiding engagement therewith and in frictional engagement with said member, a wedge member in each housing in wedge engagement with said shoe, a compression spring extending transversely of said friction member and compressed between said wedge member and said housing, each of said wedge members engaging the associated shoe along a diagonal face, said shoes and wedge members being urged tightly against opposed surfaces of the respective housings and against each other to resist movement of said shoes with said friction member longitudinally of said friction device, and abutment surfaces on each housing engageable with the associated wedge member for limiting the movement thereof in the direction of compressing the associated spring.

10. In a friction device, spaced followers, one of said followers presenting a friction member extending between spaced housings on the other of said followers, a friction shoe in eachhousing in guiding engagement therewith and in frictional engagement with said member, a wedge member in each housing in wedge engagement with said shoe, resilient means compressed between said wedge member and said housing, each of said wedge members engaging the associated shoe along a diagonal face, and aligned positioning means on each wedge member and the associated housing for said resilient means, each housing presenting vertically spaced abutment surfaces at opposite sides of said positioning means on the associated wedge member, said abutment surfaces being adapted for abutment with the associated wedge member for limiting movement thereof toward the associated resilient means to prevent overcompression thereof.

11. In a friction device, spaced followers, one of said followers presenting a friction member between spaced housings on the other follower, a friction shoe in each housing in engagement with said member, an element in engagement with said shoe, a compression spring compressed between said element and the associated housing, the engagement of each friction shoe with the associated element and member being in planes angularly arranged with respect to each other, and vertically spaced abutment surfaces on said housing at opposite sides of the associated spring adapted for abutment with the adjacent element for limiting the compression of the associated spring.

12. In a spring group, top and bottom plates, springs therebetween, a friction member connected to one plate and extending longitudinally toward the other plate, housings on the other plate at opposite sides of the friction member, each housing including a wall extending generally perpendicular to said member, a friction shoe in each housing in engagement along adjacent angularly related faces with said member and the associated wall, and means including a wedge in each housing for urging the re lated shoe against said wall and said member and also including spring means between the wedge and housing and oriented to exert a force angularly toward said member.

13. In a spring group, top and bottom plates, springs therebetween, a friction member extending from one plate toward the other plate between the springs, housings at opposite sides of the friction member on said other plate between the springs, each housing including spaced side webs, top and bottom walls and a back wall spaced from the friction member and having a spring seating surface facing said friction member, a shoe in each housing in vertical face engagement with the friction member and in engagement along an angularly related face with a bottom wall of the associated housing, and means including a wedge within each housing between the related shoe and back wall oriented to exert a force against the shoe to urge theshoe into engagement with said bottom wall and said member and for holding the shoe in said engagement during relative movement between said plates toward and away from each other, said means also including a spring seated at one end against the seat and operativ-ely associated at the other end with the related wedge to exert a force angularly toward said friction member.

ROBERT B. COTTRELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,637,149 I-Iaseltine July 26, 1927. 1,707,490 OConnor Apr. 2, 1929 2,260,532 Lindeman Oct. 28, 1941 2,295,552 Cottrell Sept. 15, 1942 2,295,554 Cottrell Sept. 15, 1942 2,295,556 Flesch Sept. 15, 1942 2,357,264 Light Aug. 29, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 378,410 Great Britain Aug. 4, 1932 526,264 Great Britain Sept. 13, 1940 

